In last week’s Batman #21, Tom King and Jason Fabok began to unravel a mystery that’s plagued the DC Universe for over a year. After a bloody smiley face button ends up inexplicably embedded into the wall of the Batcave, Batman and The Flash realize that they’re being “watched” by powerful forces that have rewritten their memories and the fabric of reality itself. The two heroes have teamed up to get to the bottom of the situation and restore the rightful order of the universe, but after the Reverse Flash took the Dark Knight down in a brutal fight, will The Flash have to solve the mystery on his own?

Check out the Comics Beat’s exclusive preview of The Flash #21 after the jump.

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Howard Porter

Colorist: Hi-Fi

Letterer: Steve Wands

“THE BUTTON” part two! The cataclysmic events of DC UNIVERSE: REBIRTH #1 continue here! The Dark Knight and The Fastest Man Alive, the two greatest detectives on any world, unite to explore the mystery behind a certain blood-stained smiley button embedded in the Batcave wall. What starts as a simple investigation turns deadly when the secrets of the button prove irresistible to an unwelcome third party—and it’s not who anyone suspects! It’s a mystery woven through time, and the ticking clock starts here!

Alex is the Managing Editor of the Comics Beat. He is also a freelance comics editor with previous credits at Papercutz. He lives and breathes city life and has an uncomfortably intense passion for fashion and instagrammable food. Additionally, he has no soul and thus mains Pharah.

The artistic shift is extremely jarring. There is no sense of thematic or artistic relationship with Batman 21. And the opening scene deprives the reader of a smooth transition of narrative from Batman 21. This is so disappointing. I hate the art. It takes me right out of the story. I can’t believe they would have their best artist followed by this. Not an good sign.

What always amazes me is everyone attacking an artist…a Professional Artist, that is making a living at what he does. And more than likely by people who can’t draw a straight line with a ruler.
The art isn’t the best I have seen, but also not the worst. He DOES have story telling down, which is the primary requirement for a comic book artist. He has his own style.

Welcome to the internet Ehawk!
Seriously though whilst I’m not against Porter as much as some of the chaos here, I have to point out that Porter doesn’t just have his own style, he’s on about his third or fourth since the end of JLA.

As for the preview, I’m shocked – I didn’t think Batman was going to make it after the end of part one! Comics eh?